This morning Texas Democratic Party Chairman Boyd Richie and DNC member Betty Richie announced that they are endorsing Barack Obama for President. “Too many Texas families find themselves unable to make ends meet, much less save and invest in the future, due to Republican policies that burden the middle class and divide Americans,” Boyd Richie said.

He also discussed Obama’s work to help build the Texas Democratic Party, “I am also grateful for Senator Obama’s commitment to help build the Texas Democratic Party. Senator Obama and his campaign understand something that Texans have known for at least a couple of years – that when Democratic candidates invest the time and resources necessary, Texas Democrats have the numbers to compete and win across every region of our great state. We made progress in 2006, and in 2008, the Texas Democratic Party is more energized, better organized, and we are poised to make significant gains this fall.”

Betty Richie mentioned how she thought Obama was the best candidate to address the needs of rural Texans, “Under Senator Obama’s administration, there is no doubt the issues of concern to rural Texas will be put front and center. The futures of our families are far too important to leave in the hands of any Republican. It is time for a Democrat to put our country and our state back on the right track.”

The meeting of the party’s Rules and Bylaws Committee is really just a formality tomorrow. I suspect that after the last two primaries next week, no matter what the new number is to wrap up the nomination, the superdelegates will put Obama over the top. I think this is the first endorsement that talked about Obama and rural issues. This is something that the campaign needs to do more of if they are going to run strong in the swing states.

The voters will decide the election in places like Virginia, Michigan, Pennsylvania, and Ohio aren’t in the cities. They live in the small towns and rural areas. This is a group of voters that Obama needs to openly court. He is already poised to dominate the urban areas across the country, where he needs help is with small town America. Hopefully, his choice of running mate will help address this concern.